


A Pearl and a Summer Night

by Aeos



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-03 04:36:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11524683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeos/pseuds/Aeos
Summary: Eren and Levi were best friends of three years. Would they stay friends, or trespass into unknown territory as the days grew shorter and summer came to a close?





	A Pearl and a Summer Night

Levi's fingers wrapped around his pencil, his other hand occupied by a calculator. Every so often, he would glance up at the clock. He had ten minutes to go. Ten minutes until he was free of this small piece of personal hell. 

His personal hell being homework from Trost high. He had Mr. Pixis; a kind but strict man with a silver mustache and balding head. Only the smallest of silver wisps sprouted from by his ears. He was notorious around Trost for assigning homework on weekends. And Levi, being one of his victims, was being forced to do just that.

Having overbearing Japanese parents didn't help. With his love of free time and the Asian stereotype both. 

Free time being the beach; which he lived by. Levi loved exploring; especially looking for shells and critters. It was everything his teenage heart could want in life. And that's what Levi was; a teenager of fourteen years.

Downstairs, he could hear the sounds of his parents chatting, along with his sister's occasional quips. Dinner would be ready soon. Levi was definitely looking forward to it, as well. He let out a heavy sigh, finishing another problem on his assignment as he continued to wait.

However, it wasn't long before his sister came upstairs, smiling like a child. Well, she was. Mikasa was only ten, but already she had began planning her life out. She wanted to be a professional volleyball player. And judging by her past of consistently scoring and aiding as an Ace, she was heading down that path.

 

"Momma said dinner is done," Mikasa reported as she approached her old brother, "She also said that you can come downstairs." 

 

Levi glanced up at the clock, then back down at his sister. He gave a simple shrug and stood, following his sister downstairs. 

 

As expected, dinner was set out, and Levi took in the delicious aroma, a smile creeping its way onto his thin lips. Mom's cooking was always the best. However, Levi noticed that one thing was out of place.

 

A certain lanky, tanned brunette was standing by the door, all smiles and bubblegum breath.  
Levi took his time as he made his way to Eren, his best friend of three years. As per usual, he was chewing on some cinnamon flavored bubblegum. Judging by his breath, at least. 

"What are you doing here?" Levi asked, a small smile on his face. It was always nice to see the other 14 year old, even if Levi was clueless as to what he was doing at his house.

 

"Your parents invited me over for dinner," Eren grinned, his white teeth showing, and Levi felt his teenage heart ache for an unknown reason.

 

Levi glanced towards his parents, and his mother offered a smile, nodding. Her dimples shown through; like they always did. A fluent stream of Japanese passed between the two before Levi punched Eren in the shoulder playfully, "She says that you were the one to ask." 

 

Eren grinned sheepishly at that, shrugging and keeping his gaze on Levi, “Oops. Must have slipped my mind.” and with that said, they both walked towards the kitchen counter; where dinner was being served. Mikasa was already digging into her dinosaur chicken nuggets and fries, squealing excitedly, while the rest of them were each given a platter of white rice and soba. 

His mother’s cooking was delicious, and her soba was only second to her sushi. Levi truly was a mama’s boy. 

Levi was quick to begin eating, using his chopsticks expertly and occasionally sneaking glances to catch Eren attempting to use his own and failing miserably.

Halfway through dinner, Levi felt something brush against his leg. Immediately, goosebumps formed and shivers ran up his body. Glancing down hastily, he confirmed that it was Eren's foot. The brunette caught his eyes and grinned, sending a kick to his shin, to which Levi scoffed. He kicked back just as hard, if not harder, causing Eren to squeal. The innocent horseplay earned a chuckle from his father, who was watching over his bowl of soba. His mom, however, chastised him, and all Levi could do was hold back a smile and respond in apologetic Japanese.

 

Beside him, Eren shot him a genuine smile, to which Levi smiled back at, and he bumped their legs together again.   
To his mild surprise, he felt Eren's leg brush back up against his own, despite the fact that they were relatively far away. Levi shot a questioning look towards his friend, who only shrugged, moving his leg away. What had that been about? Had Eren wanted his attention or something?

With furrowed brows, his attention drifted back to the meal in front of him. As he ate, Levi recalled how Eren’s leg had felt. Was that strange? Surely Levi was just being weird. Thinking about something in that way was disgusting. According to his parents at least. 

Levi pushed these thoughts away and quickly finished up his soba and rice, not wanting to dwell on something so taboo. 

It wasn't long before dinner ended, and dessert was served. However, Levi and Eren passed on it, deciding that they wanted to go swimming in the ocean. Levi's parents, being the owners of a good-sized sushi restaurant, had more than enough money to live by the ocean. And because it was getting dark, the beach was clear of any peering eyes. It seemed perfect for finding shells and   
in polite, but poorly pronounced Japanese, Eren thanked Levi's family and they left, laughing and racing one another to the beach. The sand was hot beneath Levi's feet as he ran, toes digging in for purchase. A minute later, both boys were panting, the sun still high enough to overheat them. Levi laughed, knocking his shoulder against Eren's, "I beat you, asshole."

Eren laughed, high and sweet, and Levi suddenly felt like he'd won something completely else. He'd never told anyone else, but he secretly thought Eren had a nice laugh. A laugh that stirred something within him that had shame practically radiating off of him like heat.

"C'mon, Levi, let's go look for shells!" Eren smiled, taking his hand before Levi’s negative thoughts could consume him, eagerly dragging him towards the shore. 

The water was cool against his toes as they both searched. After ten minutes, Eren had already found a clam and a piece of driftwood, while Levi on the other hand wasn't having any luck.   
When the sun had just begun to dip below the horizon, the two of them made their way to a rocky outcropping and jumped off, hands gripping onto one another's. They laughed and splashed around, and Levi couldn't help but feel happier than he had all week.

 

With Eren, did he feel happy.  
The thought had him stilling for a moment, and Eren swam up to him, face worried, "Everything okay, Levi?"

 

He was quick to nod, and the two of them swam to the shore soon after. Thankfully, Levi had brought his knife, and Eren began shucking the clams he had found.   
"You seemed off a second. Everything okay, dude?" Eren questioned, working on his first clam; the largest one. 

 

Levi shrugged, not wanting to bring up his momentary lapse in common sense.  
It just wasn't right to think about Eren that way. The way he thought about girls.  
Eren didn't say anything for a while, as he was busy opening the clam and searching its guts for a pearl. No luck. He moved onto the second one.

 

They stayed like that for an hour, having Eren shucking the clams while Levi kicked the water around with his feet. They chatted for quite some time, before the tension became almost too much to bear for Levi. 

It was only on the last clam, thirty minutes later, did Eren find something. He let out hoots and hollers, ecstatically glancing up and down at the clam. Then, with a wide smile, he shoved something in Levi's face.   
It was a pearl. It wasn't anything special, a shiny, bluish colored rock-looking thing. But Eren was squealing like a child nonetheless. 

Levi took it, rolling it over in his fingers and laughing out loud for once at Eren's reaction. Finally, he settled down, glancing at Eren. That's when he noticed the boy's expression. Eren was staring at him, rather, at his lips.

 

This confused Levi, and he could only whisper out a soft 'Eren' before his lips were being captured in the faintest of kisses. 

 

Eren pulled back, as if burned, and he swallowed, smiling nervously, "Sorry... I... was just so happy. I don't know what came over me."   
Levi stared at him, watching as that infectious smile faded, and Eren watched the water below his feet.  
"What was that? Eren?" Levi murmured, moving closer, lips parted.  
"I don't know. I just... I think about you so much. If... if you hate me, then it's okay, " His friend muttered, avoiding eye contact like a guilty child.

 

So many emotions were swirling through his body. Disgust, shame, surprise. But one particular emotion dominated the others. Contentedness. It had felt good, and his lips still buzzed in anticipation of something more.

“It’s… okay,” Levi whispered, despite the inner turmoil, and leaned in, kissing the corner of Eren's mouth. Immediately, the boy shot red, hiding his face in his elbow. Levi laughed again, quieter this time, and moved the boy’s hands with his own, “Eren..?” 

The blushing boy moved his lanky arms, bottom lip trembling some. Whatever Levi felt, couldn't be bad if Eren made him feel like this. Cupping Eren’s face, the dark-haired boy smiled gently, “Hey.”

Eren hesitantly turned his head, and Levi took his chance to kiss him deeper, hands moving up to Eren's shoulders.

 

It wasn't like the last two times. Their lips met again and again, and Levi couldn't help but feel happier than he had in months. Eren tasted like cinnamon and something so distinctly him. That feeling in his chest blossomed and spread throughout him, and nothing else seemed to matter at that moment except for the boy before him. Perhaps it wasn't so wrong to think of Eren like this.

They only parted when the two of them ran out of breath. By now, the sun had set, and Levi could barely see the other boy. Soft breaths were the only way of telling how close he was.

It was silent for a beat before they both started laughing, holding one another and shivering from the coolness of the night air. 

It was hard to believe these newfound feelings had originated from only a pearl and a summer night.

**Author's Note:**

> Send a comment my way on what you think!


End file.
